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PROJECT EULER · #0519

Tricoloured Coin Fountains

Statement only · UnsolvedOriginal problem ↗

An arrangement of coins in one or more rows with the bottom row being a block without gaps and every coin in a higher row touching exactly two coins in the row below is called a fountain of coins. Let f(n) be the number of possible fountains with n coins. For 4 coins there are three possible arrangements:

0519_coin_fountain.png

Therefore f(4)=3 while f(10)=78.

Let T(n) be the number of all possible colourings with three colours for all f(n) different fountains with n coins, given the condition that no two touching coins have the same colour. Below you see the possible colourings for one of the three valid fountains for 4 coins:

0519_tricolored_coin_fountain.png

You are given that T(4)=48 and T(10)=17760.

Find the last 9 digits of T(20000).

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